This invention relates in general to the field of cattle stalls, in particular, in milking parlors and milking stalls having a unique wedge shape for compact parlor design, efficient parlor operation and maximum comfort for the cow.
A milking parlor generally consists of an array of individual stalls, each designed to hold a cow or other dairy animal while she is being milked. An attendant or operator is usually required to be present at the parlor to perform such tasks as ensuring that the animals are properly situated in the stalls; washing the udders prior to milking; applying milker units; and monitoring and attending to the operation of the milker units.
In early prior-art serial milking parlors, cows were placed in rectangular shaped stalls arranged in an end-to-end configuration, as shown in FIG. 1. In such parlors, the milking operation was performed alongside the cow. The operator had to walk the entire length of the cow in order to go from one cow to the next in attending to the milker units. Even for moderately sized milking parlors the required walking by the operator became excessive and physically tasking.
With the traditional serial configuration, the operator could not visually inspect the operation of all the milking units from one location because of the linear arrangement of the cow stalls and the distance separating the milker units. Consequently, the operator could not adequately meet problems arising at any given stall during milking.
An improvement to the serial configuration was made by arranging the stalls in the so-called herringbone configuration, as shown in FIG. 2. Like the serial configuration, the milking operation for the herringbone parlor is performed alongside the cows. The stall-to-stall distance the operator must walk to reach the next milker unit was reduced somewhat compared to the end-to-end configuration. However, the herringbone parlor still requires the operator to walk a considerable distance to each stall. In addition, the design was far from optimum for visual inspection of the milker units during the milking operation.
A recent development in parlor design has yielded the side-by-side or parallel stall configuration, sometimes called right-angle stall configuration, as shown in FIG. 3. In this design, milking takes place at the rear of the cow, between the hind legs. The distance of travel for the operator has also been reduced as compared to the herringbone and end-to-end or serial parlor configurations. The distance from one milking unit to an adjacent unit is essentially reduced to the minimum width dimension of the stall. Normally, a cow requires a stall width of at least twenty-eight to twenty-nine inches (twenty-six inches, post to post) for milking to avoid discomfort or injury. Thus, the parallel parlor configuration is an improvement over the end-to-end and herringbone designs. However, the distance from one milker unit to the next cannot be reduced to less than the acceptable minimum width of a rectangular milking stall. The linear arrangement of this parlor configuration is also less than suitable for visual inspection of the milker units during the milking operation.
An attempt to improve upon this visual inspection capability of the parallel stall involves arranging the parallel parlors in a V-shape, as shown in FIG. 4. However, it has been found that the V-shaped arrangement has not significantly improved the operator's ability to visually inspect and respond to any given milker unit during the milking operation.
Some parallel stall parlors are designed so that the cows enter along a rear pathway and turn a sharp angle, e.g. 90 degrees, into the individual stalls, as shown in FIG. 3. The sharp turn can be difficult for many cows to negotiate, and sometimes results in cow traffic jams in the parlor and discomfort or injury to cows, and may require operator intervention.
A tandem rotary parlor design utilizes end-to-end stalls arranged in a circle, as shown in FIG. 5. The parlor is rotatable about a central operator area. The operator can, in principle, basically stand at a single position and attend to each stall in the parlor as the cows revolve past. Such a rotary parlor is an elaborate mechanical system with high operating costs and requires a substantial commitment to maintenance. Another disadvantage is that the cows enter the parlor one cow at a time, which limits the number of cows that can be milked in a given period of time.
Still another parlor design available utilizes parallel stalls disposed in a circular configuration where the cows enter the stalls from a ramp at the perimeter of the parlor, as shown in FIG. 6. This parlor is also designed to rotate about its center. As with the rotary parlor of FIG. 5, with this parlor the cows enter one at a time. After milking, the cows must back out of the stalls onto the ramp to exit the parlor. Backing out is usually a slow process, and often requires operator intervention. As shown, the operator is situated outside the perimeter of the parlor. In some instances, he may be required to walk the perimeter of the parlor. Also, in this configuration the operator cannot inspect all of the milker units without having to either rotate the parlor at a relatively high rate or walk the entire perimeter of the parlor.